Ilario Corna, Chief Technology and Information Officer, was a special guest at the discussion forum “Artificial Intelligence and Sport – Advantages and Challenges”, which took place today at the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski”.
The conference, hosted by Vessela Letcheva and the NSA, was opened by the Minister of Youth and Sports Ivan Peshev, the Deputy Minister of Education Natalia Miteva and the Rector of prof. Krasimir Petkov. Among the guests were the Chairman of the Commission for Children, Youth and Sport Gabriel Valkov, the Secretary General of the BOC Belcho Goranov, the leadership of the NSA, lecturers, heads of sports federations, students and journalists.
“This discussion comes at an important time because innovation is an essential part of sport. I congratulate Vesela Lecheva and the management of the National Sports Academy for the initiative. They have our support because the development of Bulgarian sport is a common mission,” said Minister Ivan Peshev.
Natalia Miteva said that the Ministry of Education is engaged in a number of initiatives related to the development of artificial intelligence, a topic that has dominated the agenda in recent months. She stressed that this is about important scientific achievements, but the key role of humans and their ability to manage processes should not be forgotten.
The NSA develops its faculty and students and is open to innovation, said NSA Rector Prof. NSA is open and open to students. In the Academy receive their education the coaching staff of Bulgaria, with whose knowledge and competence will be built the future of our sport. And this future is related to innovation, said prof. Krasimir Petkov. On the current topic of prevention of football hooliganism, he was of the opinion that there is a possibility to control it through the already developed algorithms for ensuring the safety of sports halls and stadiums, which are used worldwide.
Ilario Corna briefed the audience on what the IOC has done in the few months before the Olympic Games in Paris. With the help of artificial intelligence, impressive results were achieved for the organisation, optimisation, spectator experience, TV presentation and a number of other elements that helped the Summer Games to improve a number of records, but most of all to be close to the audience. The Olympic Artificial Intelligence Programme is the third of a trilogy of strategic documents launched under the leadership of IOC President Thomas Bach, and represents the anticipated impact AI could have on sport.
“Exactly one day after the Athlete of the Year, the oldest and most respected ranking, in which we awarded the most successful Bulgarian athletes in the Olympic year 2024, we gather to talk about the future. And the future is about artificial intelligence, which is not just entering, but directly invading our lives.
As a member of the IOC’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Committee, I would like to thank the International Olympic Committee for participating today in this discussion with its lead expert, Hilario Corna,” said Vessela Letcheva.
“A lot of people in this room attended live or watched on TV the Olympic Games in Paris. And maybe we don’t realize it, but there was artificial intelligence being used even in places we didn’t suspect it was happening. From the security systems that allowed the organising committee to plan the space, the scenarios and all aspects related to the safe running of the event to the performance of the athletes themselves,” added Lecheva.
Never before in the history of major sporting events had artificial intelligence provided athletes and coaches with such a high level of support. Cutting-edge data analytics systems have offered detailed insights into athletes’ performance, helping them achieve better results, it was reported at the forum.
